Cathy Cursed
by Fiery Wordess
Summary: Ever wonder about a presentday Ella? I don't, that's why I wrote this.
1. Cold Morning

**Cathy Cursed**

I grit my teeth.  _Today will be the day.  I will… nuts._  I stopped before the stop sign and I couldn't move.  Just walking to school in the morning was an impossible task in itself.  I stared at the stop sign, willing it to say "go" but it naturally never did.  Instead I would stand there until my step-mother drove to work and told me to get to school.  The weather was freezing and I chattered my teeth fiercely.  

"G-go Cathy.  Go!"  I sighed.  I couldn't command myself.

Why hadn't I dressed more warmly?  That could be explained in one tantalizing and evil word: hormones.  Ian was definitely a sexy beast, but so were Mark and Aaron.  In fact, about half of the guys in my school appealed to me.  I don't think it's completely my fault either.

Nobody believes in magic anymore.  I wish I could join those ignorant masses who laugh at curses and those who claim to see miracles.  I am living proof that fairies exist and are pains in my rear-end.  I don't know why and I really don't know how, but I have this curse of obedience that lurks around every corner in every word and sign.  I no longer watched T.V. for fear of the commanding commercials.  

I don't know my fairy, I just remember a really pretty lady who told me to come to her.  I wisely stuck my tongue out of her and got the shock of my life when she said it again and there was no fighting her words.  

"One day," she sang, "you may break the spell!"

_One day, I thought,_ I will break your nose.__

Just as my nose became utterly numb, I heard the honk of my step-mother's horn.

"Get to school!  What the hell do you do out here every day?"

"I-."  Again, I tried to explain to no avail.  "I don't know."

_Tell no one, the fairy had commanded, grinning manically._

"Well, go!"  

I ran to the school, late for the zillionth time in a row.  All the detentions I might have served if it hadn't been for Ms. Cook.  I don't even know how she knew me, but she was always sticking out for me.  I scrunched my eyes shut as I pushed open the door.  I knew from past experience that it said **PUSH** on the handle and after pushing the door I would continue pushing everything I saw.  Ms. Cook had scolded me and told me to stop pushing.  

Day one of high school, months ago, started with me being late and the attendance officer yelling her head off at me.  I tried to explain that I was sorry and that it wasn't my fault.  When she asked why, I couldn't explain.  Ms. Cook chanced coming by and asking to see me.

I sat in her office, huffing angrily, so irritated that I couldn't explain and that no one wanted to believe me.

"My name is Mandy Cook, if you weren't already aware.  I don't mind being called Mandy, but in this day and age it is better to refer to me by title."  She had smiled kindly at me.  She was a stout old woman who always donned skirts.  "And you, of course, are Cathy Kyrria."

"Yes."  I had grunted.

"Is there something you would like to tell me?"  She asked kindly.

I had nodded but stopped and shook my head against my will.

She had frowned but allowed me to go, obviously detained in thought.  

I still wonder what she was thinking about.

"Late again, Ms. Kyrria?"  Ms. Cook had been waiting for me in the hall, a book in hand.

I nodded glumly.

"Come with me then."  

I followed her down to her office, wondering if I was in trouble this time.  I took a seat in a chair across from her desk and crossed my arms, wishing that I hadn't _had to follow her.  The pain it caused to attempt to refuse orders was unbearable in the end._

"Cathy," Ms. Cook started.  "I need you to tell me the truth.  Tell me: why is it you stop in front of stop signs until someone directs you to leave?"

"I'm cursed."  I said, for the first time all my life.  "I'm cursed, I'm cursed, I'm cursed!"  I cried in triumph.  I stood from my chair and pumped my fist into the air.  "And now I'm free!  I did it!  I broke the-."

"Sit down, Cathy."

Caught off guard, my legs gave out and I sat on a chair, defeated.

"But I…."

"You are obligated to every command, whether or not it contradicts another."  Ms. Cook explained calmly.

"Poop."  My step-mother had told me never to swear, so I had my supplements.  "How did you know?  I mean, how did you know what and how to ask?"

She heaved a great sigh.  "Take this, Cathy; I want you to tell me what it says."

I took the tome in my lap and glanced over the contents.

"'Queen Eleanor of Kyrria, also known as Ella, was once inflicted with the Obedience Enchantment as placed by Lucinda the Fairy.'"  I looked up and stopped.  "What shenanigans is this?"

"Ella was under a curse just like yours."

"But she managed to over come it!"  I gasped.  "How?"

"I can't tell you that.  That's something you must discover on your own."

"Oh come on, that's crap, and where the kablooey is Kyrria?  Hey, you made this up!"  I was so pissed.  So angry.  So frustrated.  "That's my last name!"

"Kyrria is from another world, one that your ancestors crossed over from."  Ms. Cook smiled wryly.  "And from where I had to come in order to keep Chelmak and Cyrillianna in check, though I am doing a very poor job I'm afraid."

My mouth hung open and I raised my eyebrows.

"Oh, I must let you get to class."

"But I don't get it."  

"I will explain.  Give me a week, all right?"

I wanted to say _no, not all right_ but she had commanded me to give her a week, so I shrugged.

"I need a pass."  I said dully, wishing again that the curse would dissipate.

"That you do."  Ms. Cook wrote and signed one for me.  "Get to class and behave yourself."

_Like I'm not told to do that every two seconds.        _

(Disclaimer: I don't own Kyrria, heck, I don't even live there.  I _do _own the United States of America.  Actually, I don't, because if I did I wouldn't be suffering New York State and it's dumb-bum regents.  Cathy Kyrria is half my own character because I own one half of her name.  Mandy Cook is one half my character because I gave her a last name.  Ian, Mark and Aaron are my slaves.  I will lend them to you for a nice juicy review.)


	2. Sweating Afternoon

Aillise: You may borrow my slaves.  Aaron is quite nice looking and he has a firm little bottom.  Meow.

Thank you to all of my reviewers, you made me post the next chapter.

"Sorry I'm late, Mrs. Darlene."  I said as I rushed in through the door.

"Cathy, you're lucky that the vice principal gave you that note the other day."

"I know."

"Take a seat."  She indicated a chair in the front row.

Why had she said that?  I _knew _what she meant but she hadn't said "sit down." 

"Are you sure you want me to take one?"  I muttered.

The class laughed.

"Cathy, you know what I mean."  My math teacher's voice was stern.

"Yes, you want me to take a seat."

"Just sit down and leave the chair where it is."

I sighed in relief as I sat down.  I slumped forward a bit and pulled out last night's homework.

"Pass your homework forward and get ready for your test."

_Test?!  My step-mother had once jokingly told me to get a hundred on every test, she would settle for no less.  She thought that that statement rhymed.  I hadn't studied and I couldn't get a hundred if I didn't know the stuff._

Mrs. Darlene passed the pink sheet around.  She always made her tests "fun colors."  I looked down blankly at the sheet in front of me.

_1. _Simplify __

_a. _2x + x + y  b. 3y – y  c. 2k + y + k__

"Great."  I muttered.  Suddenly I remembered how to do those sorts of things.  I went through the whole test with relative ease until the bonus.  It was the easiest bonus that I had ever seen but I couldn't do it.  My step-mother had said a hundred.  If I got over a hundred… I couldn't.  I couldn't do it.  I wrote down: _It's against my religious principles to get above a hundred.  And handed the paper in._

"Give it to me!"  The big girl, Olga Svenson, slammed little Michelle Staggerwald against the lockers about four times demanding that Michelle give up her lunch money.  I hated Olga more than anyone in the world.  If someone had commanded me to kill her, I would have happily complied.  I feared Olga because she was so commanding but seeing her bully little Michelle just pissed me off.

"It's all the money I have!"  Michelle squeaked.

"I need more, dammit!"  She roared.  I wanted a teacher to come, but they were always inconveniently not there.  I knew the minute that _I did something against the rules, a teacher would magically appear.  Olga was one of those bitches that got away with almost everything.  The gods of destruction favored her._

"Let her go, Olga."  I said angrily.  

Olga's grip loosened on Michelle.

"Excuse me, Kyrria, but I don't think you have a say in this, unless you want to."

"I do."  I lied.

Olga dropped Michelle roughly to the floor.  Michelle looked torn between running away and helping me.  Olga advanced on my, her unibrow creased in the middle.  

"Well then," I was sweating, "now that I've had my say I think I'll just go now."

"Uhn-uhn."  Olga shook her head.  "We're not done yet."

"I think we are.  Bye!"  I took off down the hallway as fast as I could.  

"Stop you little turd!"  Olga shouted.  I kept running but my run turned into a jog and all of my muscle froze up.  I took a step and nearly collapsed as the world spun.  A small blonde girl ran by me.  

"Cathy!  Run!"  Michelle cried out.  So I was again able to go.  We ran until we left the building and were hiding behind a huge oak tree.  "Thanks- for- stand-ing up for me."  Michelle gasped. 

I nodded numbly, wanting to thank her for saving me.

"Why'd you stop?"  She asked, leaning against the tree. 

"She told me to."  Popped out before I could consider what I was saying.

"What?"

"I don't know."  I lied.

"Yes you do.  Tell me."

_Crap.  "You have to promise not to tell anyone else."  I jabbered.  Red spots were dancing in front of my eyes.  _

"I promise."  Michelle whispered.

"I'm cursed.  You saved me.  I have to do what anyone tells me."

"Anyone?"  Michelle's eyes widened.  "Why?"

"A fairy cursed me."  I said without feeling.

"Wow."  Michelle's blue eyes were large while she considered this.  "So I saved you too?"

"Yes."  I couldn't believe she believed me.  "You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

"No.  I was cursed by a fairy too."  She looked down.

"What?"

"Well, not directly, but I'm part fairy.  I think my father was a fairy."

I gaped.  "Then he could lift my curse!"

"He could?"  Michelle looked happy for a moment.  "Except… I haven't seen him since I was five.  He told me something about… I don't remember.  He had to go somewhere.  Mom told me that I would be small forever.  I mean, I'd have tiny feet and the rest of my body might grow to be normal-size."

I hugged Michelle so tightly that she squeaked.

"What was that for?"  She asked.

"I'm so happy to meet someone who I can talk to!"

"Ms. Kyrria!  Ms. Staggerwald!"  We jumped up.  "Come to the office now, please!"  The principal, Mr. Whitman, called us gruffly.  

"How about we don't?"  I whispered to Michelle, but I was already moving forward.  She stood there, deep in thought.  

"Don't go, Cathy."  She said quietly.  I smiled and came back to her.  The principal's wiggly face got very red.

"What are you two doing?  You don't want to make me give you more of a detention than you've already earned."

"Michelle, I think there's a way to find your father."  I whispered.

"Yeah."  She nodded.  "Let's try."  And we ran.      

I don't know exactly why we ran.  It would've been safer to stay in school and we really didn't have anywhere to go.  I remembered what Ms. Cook had said to me about another world and two renegade fairies.  She had wanted me to wait a week but I'd been Obedient for most of my life.  I didn't want to wait another week now that I knew there was a way out of this stupid curse.  

I had finally met someone who had a problem that was weird like mine.  Maybe not as bad but still unbelievable.  It had inspired me to take charge of myself.  My life.  My decisions.  At home my life wasn't exactly bad but I hated having to do everything that I was told.  My dad was always out and my step-mother was very hard on me.  I had to excel in everything and I honestly _had to.  I was too afraid to have any friends because what if there was peer pressure?  I couldn't withstand that.  I'd never had a boyfriend, though I had been asked out multiple times.  It was a good thing none of them had been commanding.  _

Michelle and I stopped inside of a convenience store.  The old man at the cash register looked up for a moment and went back to filing his nails.  Gay, without a doubt.  We ran into the candy aisle and sat down.

"What are we going to do?"  Michelle whispered.

I told her everything that Ms. Cook had told me.

"What were the names of the fairies that escaped to Earth?"  Michelle's face blanched.

"I don't remember."  I shrugged.

"Remember!"  She commanded.

"Chelmak and Cyrillianna."  I said, and I glared at her.

"Sorry, but those names are really important."

"Why?"

"They're my aunt and uncle."     


	3. Beware the Man

(A/N: To Kaylessa: Actually, I didn't even know that Cyrilia was a sword of truth.  I really like that you're looking for roots in my names.  I actually got the name [pathetic, I know] from a character in Ella Enchanted named Cyril.  Miniscule part, but I liked the name.  I'll start trying to add more allusions for you.  I didn't think anyone would pay attention to that sort of thing, but I try from time to time.  I just wasn't doing it then.) 

"Well, there's something I didn't expect."  I said, raising my eyebrows.

"Me neither."

"Hm."  My shoulders slumped.  "That still doesn't help us."

"Right.  But… I know how to get to Kyrria." 

I brightened.  "Seriously?"

Michelle nodded.  "It's illegal and dangerous, but Cyrillianna and Chelmak were adamant in teaching me."

"I don't care how dangerous it is."  I said fervently.  "Just take me somewhere that curses are real and cures are just as.  And we can find your dad."

"Come on then.  We've gotta get to someplace private."

Someplace private ended up being a bathroom.  Stinky and small were my two favorite non-swearword descriptive words.  The gay man behind the desk gave us the key and glared at us as we left, muttering something about kids skipping.  

"How do you do this?"  I asked.

"I… it's kind of hard, actually."  Michelle wrinkled her nose.  "Hold on," she thought, "well, don't really hold on, just… oh, never mind.   The point is, it might take me a minute."

"Okay.  We've got time; it's not as if anyone's looking for us."

"Do you hear sirens?"  Michelle asked.

"Yeah, but they're not coming for us.  We're just skipping school.  The worst they'll do is tell our parents."

Someone knocked on the door.

"Anyone in there?"

"Yes!"  I shouted.  "Give me a minute."  

"Let me in!  Let me in!"  The man outside shouted.  "Or I'll shoot!"

I was going to let him in anyway.  He had, after all, told me to.  I grimaced as I opened the door. Michelle's eyes became round and she was very pale.  A tall, toned young man darted in, holding a gun in his hands like his savior.  He pointed it shakily at me and then pulled it away.

"You're just a kid."

"No.  I'm an adolescent."  I argued.

"Whatever."  The man said, closing the door.  "If they ask, I'm not in here."

Haha!  It wasn't a command.

"We're escaping the law too."  I said, to keep words flowing.

"Sure."  He tugged on his leather jacket while staring at the cruddy wooden door. 

"You don't believe me!"  I cried indignantly.

"Who said I didn't?"  He looked back at me.

"How old are you?"  I asked.

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Eighteen."  He looked back at the door.

"My name is boring.  How about yours?"

"Yeah.  Mine too."

Michelle's jaw was trembling.  I mouthed to her _think!  I'll handle this._

"Mine is Cathy."

"Mm."  He pressed his ear to the door.

"Do you know what's touched that door?"  I indicated the dark stains.

"No."

"Me neither, that's what scares me."

He drew slowly away.  "Keep your mouth shut for a minute."

How long was a minute?  Michelle drew me away for a moment and my mouth was no longer under custody of the criminal's command.

"Cathy," she whispered urgently, "I've just remembered.  But…."

"But what?  Just do it!"

"We can't go without…."  She indicated our new "friend."

"Oh well, he'll appreciate it."

"Will we?"

"He's kind of cute."  

"Don't even joke."  Michelle warned.  "This is serious.  He has a gun."

"He'll shoot all of the bad guys."

Michelle sighed.  "Okay, whatever."  

"Hey, cool it back there!"  The guy whispered harshly.  We heard gravel crunching.  "Oh my God."  He shook noticeably.

"_Kyrria hence mine body and thine._"  Michelle spoke clearly.

"I heard voices in the bathroom!"  A cop cried.  "Come on!"

"_Take me to thine womb._"

"Quick!"  Footsteps grew faster.

"Oh crap!"  The man looked around and his breathing increased.

"_So mote it be._"

The door began to shake, but we were gone before we could see the cops' surprised faces.        


	4. Ogres speak French!

(MandELLA: would you really give me virtual cookies for that?  I have a different idea, but if I could get some nice, fake, gooey yummy-ness….)

It was like sinking in darkness, squishy and warm and then being thrust into the epitome of light.  A million voices screamed around me and I felt my body fly to seemingly nowhere.  It was literally the calm before a storm as I drifted calmly in a river of nothing.  Then my body was thrust in a rocket of noise into a mass of trees that poked and prodded, slapped and whacked.  I bruised and bled, screaming obnoxiously all the way.

"OOF!"  I gasped as I slammed into the forest floor.  I whimpered softly as I stared into the trees towering overhead.  "My back," I muttered, "it's broken."

Michelle stood above me.  "I forgot that non-magical people find this a rather violent travel."

"Where the Hell am I?!"  The man sat up quickly, his face contorted in a mixture of terror and fury.

"Not Hell, 'cause we're definitely out of that bathroom."  I groaned.

He stood and brushed himself off, still holding his gun shakily in his right hand.  Michelle pulled me to my feet.  He pointed his weapon at me.  

"I want to know where I am!"  His voice cracked.

"That makes two of us so far.  Do you know, Michelle?"  I asked my fairy-friend.

"Not really.  I know that we're in Kyrria, not another country."

"I thought the planet was called Kyrria."

"Well, no, not really, but that's how it's commonly referred to as in America."

"I suppose a lot of Americans talk about it."

"No.  But… oh, anyway.  We've got to find out where we are."

The man ran his fingers through his hair, very disgruntled.  His gun was still pointed at me.

"Point that somewhere else, d'you mind?"  I commanded.

He lowered it to his side.  "What's going on?"

"It's very complicated.  If I was sure, I'd explain it, but I'm not, so…."

The man trudged over to me on wobbly feet and grabbed my shoulders.  He shook me.  "Tell me where the" _Really, bad, naughty word, "I am!"_

"Don't say anything you don't want to!"  Michelle said automatically.

"Let go of me and I'll tell you as much as I know."  I glared at him.  

He reluctantly parted company with my shoulders.  "Okay."

"Michelle is a fairy.  I am cursed.  We came to a planet where we might be safer and more understood.  You just happened to be in the bathroom at the same time."

The man almost relaxed.  "At least the cops aren't coming for me anymore."  He grinned sardonically.

"That's the spirit, Mick."  

"His name is Mick?"  Michelle asked.

"I don't know what his name is, what do you want me to call him?"

"Oh, I don't care."  Michelle shrugged.  "I just couldn't remember him telling you."

"My name is Chad."  He said, turning slightly red as he admitted it.

"That's not a boring name."  I pointed out.

"It's my middle name."  He explained, examining his gun.

"What's your first?"  I asked. 

"Dinner!"  A booming voice came from behind me.

"That's not boring," I said, turning around, "that's just stupid-."  I stopped, mouth dropping.  Six huge, ugly, creatures had come behind us.  Michelle's eyes bulged as she screamed.

"OGRES!"  

"Huh?!"  Chad was backing away.  

"Shoot them!"  I shouted.

"I can't!"  Chad moaned.

"Why not?"  

"It's not loaded!"  Chad began to run.

"WHAT!?"  

"JUST RUN!"

"Come on Michelle!"  

"You don't want to run."

"Yes I do."  I spat.  But Chad and Michelle had stopped; listening to the ogre's honeyed tones.  "Run you bozos!"  They looked torn.  

"I can give you your heart's desires.  Everything you ever wanted… it's all here."  The ogre continued, and even I could see a reason to stand still, but not enough.

I grabbed Michelle's hand and started yanking her away.  

"Stop!"  The ogre commanded.  I froze.  

"I hate you."  I grunted.  "I really do."

"That's too bad, because you'll make an excellent meal."  He grinned, baring decaying teeth.

"Have you ever heard of toothpaste?"

"No."  The ogre frowned.  "What's that?"

"Hygiene."  I said.  Michelle and Chad allowed themselves to become fettered while I was frozen.  "Something you've not heard of either."

I was right.  It didn't even take a full afternoon for me to realize how smelly they really were.  Chad and Michelle snapped out of their stupefied states after only a few minutes.  Chad shook his head, muttering and Michelle cried quietly.  I realized that we were going to die that evening as the ogres prepared their cooking fire.

"_Qui premier?"_

"_Je ne sais pas."_

"_Cela_ ne fait rien._"  Their words were slippery and smooth but oddly familiar._

"Ah!  French!"  I cried in delight.  Though, they were pronouncing a lot more than they were supposed to.  "_Voulez-vous__ manger mon ananas?"           _

The ogres burst into laughter.  I had asked them if they wanted to eat my pineapple.

"I like this one.  She seems to think she knows our language."

"We'll eat her last, then."

"You're not really hungry."  I said, trying to imitate their way of convincing people.  "In fact, you're actually quite full."

"No, we're not."  One said stubbornly.

"Do you call that baby fat?"  I asked.  I shook my head.  No, I had to sound persuasive.  "No, that is the fat of a thousand satisfying meals still digesting."

"A thousand?"  One ogre began to salivate heavily.

"Erm… you've already eaten all of them."  I mumbled.  I added in a soothing voice: "But you are so content and tired now that you have no desire to eat more, lest you explode!"  

"Boom."  Chad demonstrated.

"Lay off the sound effects, wacko."  I grunted.  "Now you all want to sleep.  You're all so tired.  And while you're sleeping, my friends and I will get a lot of yummy food for you."

The ogres sat down and their eyes drooped.  I couldn't believe my luck.  I almost cheered, but feared that might break what little spell I had cast.  Michelle's eyes were saucers as she looked on.  

"Now what?"  Chad mouthed.

I shrugged.  "No idea."  I whispered.  "Can we run away, even with these bonds?"

"Yes."  Michelle said, surprising even herself.

"How?"  Chad frowned.

"I'm a fairy, remember?"  She shook her head.  "Part fairy, anyway."

"And that does…?"  Chad frowned.  "Oh wait!  You have magic!"

She smiled.  "I'm just bad at using it."

I groaned.  "Do it fast, because the ogres are waking up."

"Right."  Michelle started chewing her bonds.

"You call that magic?"  Chad asked hysterically.

"No, I call it thinking time while getting something done."  She mumbled and went back to nibbling.  I decided there was no harm in that so I joined her by biting my own.  Chad muttered incessantly to himself about lunatics and weird, weird dreams.

"Got it!"  

"You untied it by chewing?"  I was aghast; my chewing hadn't done a thing.

"_Unveil Nothing Then Inspire Everything!_"  She sang.  "High Evolution Like Idioms Under Monsoons!"  She punched the air as her bonds came undone.  I noticed a bizarre mist creeping through the nostrils of the ogres as they breathed heavily.  

"What the f-."  Chad was cut off.

"HA!  WE'VE GOT YOU NOW YOU KNAVES!"  About twenty knights gallivanted into our clearing and the ogres jerked to life.  They were still groggy but they seemed to be registering what was going on.  

"You don't want to…."  An ogre squeaked and then grabbed his throat.  "Is that my voice?  Oh dear!  That really is my voice!"  He began to cry like an extremely ugly baby.  The ogres all tested their high-pitched voices and began to wail.  They even allowed themselves to be tied up.

"WHO ARE YOU?"  A knight shouted at me.

"I AM ME!  WHO ARE YOU?"  I shouted at the silver-clad being.

"Oh, right."  He pulled yellow stuff out of his ears.  Ew.  Use a q-tip you freak.  "Sorry.  Who are you, dear lady?"

"I am Cathy."  I bowed low to the ground.  The knights roared with laughter.  "And these are my slaves, Charad and Michellie-Poo."

"Cathy, don't be a ditz."  Michelle rolled her eyes.  "This is real, you know."

I blushed.  "Actually, I was going on the hopes that I would soon wake up."

"Crap, me too."  Chad took his gun, put it to his head and pulled the trigger.  "Pow."  He said.

"Did you ever have bullets in that thing?"  I asked.

"No."

"That's crap."

"I thought so."

"Wait up there, who are you people for true?"  The knight scratched his furry head.  He was fully bearded and blonde.  He looked like a ball of blonde fluff.  

"I am Michelle, this is Cathy and this is Chad."  Michelle quickly rounded off.  "We are lost travelers.  Could you take us to the capitol?"

"Possibly.  What's in it for us?"  An older knight from the back called out.

"Shut thine mouth, Sir Stephan."  Said blonde knight.  "I am Sir Mildred.  I will take you to the capitol.  What business have you there, Lady Michelle?"

"I am looking for my father, Cathy is looking for Ella and Chad is…."

"Just stuck with us."  I supplied.

(Note: I know what I want to do, I just don't want to do it yet.  I'm having trouble bridging it and I'm psycho-busy.  If there is a huge demand for more I might write some.  I put some spiffy stuff in here, if you notice it, feel free to say "aha!" and email me to ask.  I did it for my readers who enjoy such shenanigans.  Iif you are interested in hearing an idea of mine, please email me.)


	5. Fairies Attack

(A/N: Holy crap, yes, that was a ton of reviews.  I didn't check my e-mail for a good chunk of the week, so imagine my shock when I saw so much e-mail!  I didn't actually think anyone would respond, so I realize that it is my serious duty to write some more now.  Enjoy the brilliance of Protagonist Cathy, she's my hero.)

(Oh yeah, Mildred is a girl's name, I just thought that was adding more humor in an evil sort of a way.  I'm naughty like that.)

Chad trudged by my side, his dark brown hair falling around his face.  His blue eyes were focused on the ground.  I pat him on the shoulder.

"You know, you're not really stuck with us.  You can go off somewhere else if you want.  We'll try to send you back if you want."

He laughed.  "No, I don't want to go back."

"Seriously?"  

"Yeah."  Chad grinned, dimples appearing in both cheeks.  (A/N: Yes, this entire paragraph was for those of you who wanted physical features on my lover.  By the way, he's mine.  Mine.  Carry on.)

"Don't you have anyone on Earth that you care about?"

"No."  Then he paused, "Well, my dog Bullet, but he was hit by a car."

"Aw, I'm sorry."

"Me too."  

"Sir Mildred," Michelle was speaking with the knights, "Do you know where I can find fairies?"

"No.  Actually, yes.  Lucinda's always around.  Call on her and you've got yourself a mess to contend."  Sir yellow fur-ball guffawed.

"How do I call her?"

"Dunno."  Sir Mildred shrugged.

Sir Stephan frowned.  "Why do you wonder, little miss?"

"I… I need a fairy.  That's actually what we're looking for."

"Oh, then don't go to the capitol.  Queen Ella had a bit of trouble with Lucinda and even though they've come to mends, most people would prefer not to see her likes."  

"Lucinda's children are causing a spot of trouble right now.  Go around 'blessing' everyone in sight."

"What do you mean?"  I piped up.

"Giving the gift of Obedience and Togetherness and so on."  Another knight said, yanking on an ogre's collar rather roughly.  

"What… what are their names?"

"I won't speak them here.  They might come for me."  Sir Mildred whispered.

"Are they Cyrillianna and…."

"Shh!"

"…Chelmak?"  I finished.  "Oh."  All the knights were paler than my sun-deprived bottom with fear.

"We're leaving you three here."  A knight cried.  "You're bad luck!  I see it already!"

"You gotta problem with bad luck?"  Chad smirked. "That makes two of us."

"Three."  I piped up.

"It's okay if you leave us, you helped us enough and it would be in poor taste to cause troubles for you."  I never knew that Michelle could be so… royal.  In a word.  "If we ever meet again, I hope it is in better circumstances.  Thank you for your assistance, brave souls."

"We can take them to the capitol still…."  Sir Stephan said slowly.

"What?  Are you mad?  Stephan!  These three have foul luck darkening their footsteps!"  A superstitious knight was trembling.  The ogre he was leading shook his head, annoyed by this knight's cowardice.

"Is it not our responsibility to save even the poorly lucked?"  Sir Stephen drew himself to full height.  "When we were sworn to duty we swore to save even the worst off, even at risk to our lives."

"Well said."  Michelle nodded.

I started clapping.

"Stop it."  Michelle commanded, looking back at me as though I were a moron.  I was of course, but she had also commanded me to stop, and, being as I was, I stopped.  "Oh, sorry."  She blushed.  "We have a mission to accomplish, and you have helped us to a point.  Thank you.  We'll take it from here."

"If you're sure…."  Sir Stephan nodded.  "Good luck to you."

"Ta!"  I waved as the knights retreated.  I heard them muttering amongst themselves.  

"Clearly they're up to no good.  Did you see their odd clothes?  How many people have you seen who look like that?"  Sir Mildred shook his head.  

"It's your leather jacket."  I said as the three of us began to walk another way through the forest.  "I mean, it frightens the locals."

"Hah."  He grinned skeptically.  "Isn't that ironic?"

"No." 

"You don't understand."

"I know what irony is and I quite expected a bunch of knights to think a leather jacket and jeans to be odd.  That's not ironic."

Michelle frowned thoughtfully as she walked, mouthing things to herself and shaking her head.

"So, why were you in trouble with the law anyway?"  I asked.

"I killed a man."  He said expressionlessly. 

"Ooh, that's kind of creepy."  I realized that I had been goofing off around a murderer.  

"No.  That's not what I meant.  I didn't do it, I was accused, and it looked like it too."

That made me feel better. 

"See, this guy shot another man, throws the gun over by me and runs.  I picked the gun up and tried to shoot the murderer, but… yeah, there weren't any bullets.  The cops show up and figure I did it.  I didn't want to go to jail.  Justice is an illusion.  I would be there the rest of my life with a bunch of killers."

"I'm sorry."  I put a hand on his arm and then Michelle snapped her fingers.

"Got it!"  

"What?"  Chad and I chimed.

"Lucinda!  Lucinda!  I am in need of your help!" 

There was a potent smell of lilacs and an old lady with smiling eyes appeared.  There were streaks of blonde in her graying hair.  Her dress flattered her surprisingly young figure, only to sag a bit as she shook her head at herself.  

"Who calls upon me?"  She turned and saw the three of us.  "Who are you?"

"I am Michelle, and you're my great-aunt."

"How delightful!"  Lucinda clapped her hands together and laughed her tinkling laugh.  

"You're a fairy?"  I gawped.  "Yes!  You can save me!"  I spun in circles happily.  "Woo!"  

"Ah, but dear, what do you need?"  Lucinda smiled at me.  "A different dress?  A dress?  That outfit is horribly masculine."

"I don't care about my stinking clothes."  I waved a hand.  "But I'm cursed with Obedience."

"Oh dear.  Was it one of my children that did this?"  She moaned.  She looked centuries older.

"I don't know."

"I haven't seen them in awhile."  Lucinda frowned.  "They went to Earth and Mandy went to search for them."

"Cyrillianna cursed her."  Michelle asserted.  "How can she break it?"

Lucinda sighed.  "I swore not to do big magic, but I've been trying to break curses left and right.  It's tougher than you might assume.  Chelmak is trying to make an army of slaves, I think.  He was always a bit… sadistic."

"A what?"  Chad spoke up.  "An army of slaves?"

"Yes.  He wants to take over Kyrria and the rest of the world.  Probably Earth too.  I've been left here to deal with what I can."

"How do I break the curse?"  I repeated, not giving a hoot about Chelmak and Cyrillianna.

"I've gotten quite good at breaking Obedience curses, especially when they're new."

"This one isn't new."  I groaned.

Lucinda's face fell.  "I can still try…."  She came over and placed a hand on my forehead.  Then she jumped back.  "It's far too old.  The only fairy who can break your curse is Cyrillianna and my daughter would never help you."

I staggered back.  "What am I going to do?"

"There may be another way, but it is rare to find it nowadays."  She looked saddened at her inability to help.  "Young Michelle, what have you come to seek?"

"My father.  And a way to become a proper fairy."

"What is your father's name?"  She asked while smiling, deliberately not looking at me.

"Cedric."  

"Ah!  Cedric!  Come hither now!  Your daughter wishes to see you!"

A puff of blue smoke brought a blonde man stumbling over.  "My daughter?  What's this Lucinda, she's back on… MICHELLE!  What are you doing here!?"  A tired, middle-aged man waltzed over, looking afraid and delighted and furious.  

"Daddy!"  Michelle ran over to hug him.  

"You weren't to come here until you were older!"

"I had to come here, Dad!  You don't understand how it was on Earth…."

"Who are your friends?"  He asked, looking up at us.

"Cathy, she's cursed.  And Chad is a falsely accused criminal."

"Hi."  I said vaguely, feeling as though I might sink into the ground, knowing that I was to be forever cursed.  

"I suppose they will have to come."

"Come where?"  Chad asked suspiciously.

"To the Fairy Academy, of course."


	6. Fairy Academy

[Mandella, you are so vastly lucky that I have taken a liking to you or this chapter wouldn't have come out for another three months.  I am up in the dead of night… rather morning now, some ungodly hour, writing this chapter, just for you.  I can recognize a plea for mercy when I see one.  So this whole thing… voila, pour toi.]  

It was a lovely building, about six or seven floors high and built of a marble-like rock.  I felt my legs moving of their own accord as I stared at its magnificence in awe.  Lucinda and Michelle's dad didn't seem to notice how lucky they were to have such a building for a school.  I almost wanted to slap them and say "grovel to the building!  It is GODLY!"  But I figured that would be stupid.  After all, it was just a splendid and spectacular beauty.  The gardens around it thrived as though by magic.

Then again, they probably did thrive by magic.  

"Fairy Academy, duh."  I thought out loud.  

"Exactly what I was thinking."  Chad mumbled.  

Lucinda walked in through the door followed by Cedric and Michelle.  Chad and I looked at one another, wondering how they had walked through a solid, wooden door.  

"Well, if it worked for them…."  I shrugged and walked forward, dreading the crash coming right up.  I squinted my eyes, feeling like Harry Potter rushing his trolley (isn't that a funny word?  It makes me think of Mr. Roger, but moving along,) at the gate.  And just like in the second book I stumbled back and grabbed my nose as I landed on the stone pathway.  

"You know," Chad said crouching over me, "they are fairies.  They probably have some walking-through-walls thing going for them that we don't."

"Rub it id by face, but I think I broke by dose."  My nose was seriously bruised and I was having trouble talking.  What I had tried to say was "rub it in my face, but I think I broke my nose."  I'm just articulate twenty-four/seven.  Get used to it.

Chad's mouth twitched and I longed to bite it.  Not in a sexual way mind you, maybe I'd even hire a squirrel or rabid chipmunk.  I just wanted him to suffer.  

"Let me see it."

"Doe, you'll just poke it."  Doe=No in broken-nose-anese.

"I'm not cruel, Cathy."

"Yes, you are."

"Come on, I have experience with broken noses."

"Don't you bean breaking doses?"  But I removed my hand from my nose anyway.  

"Yup, it's a bit puffy, but nothing horrible."

"So says the boy od the other side of hell."  I muttered.  I screamed suddenly as a head poked through the door to look at us.  "Holy spittle!" 

"Hi, I'm Ean."  The Asian head smiled at us.  "Limab Ean.  Lucinda asked that I take you to a room.  Golly, what happened to your nose?"  

"Your door happened to by dose."  

"Ah, we get that all the time."  He smiled and nodded.  "Stupid humans."

Oh, I'll take him down.  

"Let me fix it."  He stepped through the door, his billowing purple robe coming into view.  He was tall and skinny and his robes were a thinner silk.  His fingers were long and delicate as he reached down towards my face.  I scrunched my eyes praying he wouldn't punch my nose in.  Suddenly, my nose felt cool and almost non-existent.

"Got your nose!"  He cried with glee.  My eyes snapped open as I looked at his hand.  

"Oh my gosh!"  Then I took a closer look at his clenched fist and saw a thumb poking in between his index and middle finger.  Both Chad and Limab Ean were laughing.  "That is so not funny in a world full of fairies.  You could cause serious brain damage in chickas like me."

"Come!  I will take you to your room!"  Limab said.  

"So your name is Limab Ean?"  I asked, now that I knew my nose was safely secured on my face.  "Like lima bean?"

Limab's face became grim.  "Lima Ima was my mother.  Bean Ean was my father.  They're both dead."

My mouth snapped shut.  No use using a pun on him.  It would be cruel.

"No they weren't."  A girl shouted from down a pathway in the garden.  "He just says that to deter the snide remarks.  Go ahead and make a soup out of him."  

"That's wonderful!"  I shouted to the girl.  "You're my new hero!"

"Just wait and see what I do next!"  And she disappeared into a puff of smoke.

Limab took us up about forty-thousand staircases.  I thought my life was going to end when I saw it flashing before my eyes.  Then I realized all of my memories had been squashed by multiple staircases.  They were made of everything stone I could think of, which wasn't that many, but the point is, there were a lot of materials.

"Why all the staircases?"  I puffed.

"I have to take you long route because neither of you are fairies."

"Chad's a fairy."  I lied.

"I am not gay!"  Chad said belligerently (Ah, another wonderful word that I plopped in.)

"I never said you were."

"Well, I'm not magical either."

"Did you like the double-connotation?"  I asked.

"Not a bit."  Chad frowned deeply.

"Limab, do you know how to break curses?"

"Not yet.  Very few that still go here are any good at that."  He shrugged.  "Sorry." 

"Yeah, me too."

"Here's your room."  Limab motioned to a door that looked like it was part of the wall.  "It's in the attic.  Enjoy your stay.  Muah hahaha!"  And he disappeared.

"Well, that's rarely a good sign."  I put my hands on my hips.  "But I'm already enjoying myself very much."  

"Seriously?"  Chad was taken aback.

"He did command me to.  At least it was a kind command."

"Cathy, feel however you want to about your stay."

"Okay."  My mood plummeted.  "That was a crappy thing to do."

"I gave you freewill, you ingrate."  Chad opened the door to a cramped room with one pallet and three blankets.  

"You can take the floor."  I told him.

"No way, Jose."

"I'll fight you for it."

Chad gave me a withering look.  "We'll share the pallet.  And survive."

_Happily.  I thought.  "Whatever."_


	7. Little Piggy

{Hermione offered to sell me her soul in exchange for the next chapter.  Wow.  I feel so privileged.  I guess I'll have to post one.}

{MandELLA, sorry it took me so long, I've just been really, really, really (times fifteen) busy.  It's not that I don't love you all.}

It was about eight o'clock when we were all called to eat in the fairy mess hall.  It was a glittering spectacle full of students performing half-good spells.  The food did strange dances that eliminated my appetite and turned my hunger into queasiness.  Chad was sitting next to me, looking dark and worried.  He jumped at every bang and boom, of which there were a lot.

"You're going to get an ulcer if you carry on that way."  I muttered to him.

"I think I'll get an ulcer no matter what I do."  He shrugged, poking hesitantly at his singing potatoes.  "This food certainly won't sit well.  Alack."  I stared at him not because he thrust a spoonful of potatoes but because of the word he had used.

"Alack?"

"It's a commonly used interjection."  He said, after swallowing a lump and cringing.  

"It is not commonly used unless you're from this planet, buddy boy."

"It's commonly used in Shakespeare."  He corrected himself quickly.  "Just forget it."

I frowned.  "What?  Wait, I'm confused…."  What had we been talking about?

"Oops.  Sorry."  He muttered, poking at his potato again.

"Why?  Why are you sorry?"  I groaned and my stomach rumbled.  The bread in front of me looked perfectly edible and normal.  I looked both ways before grabbing the bread and stuffing it whole in my heavy salivating mouth.  A fairy-in-training shook her head disgustedly at me as she pointed to her food and made it dance.  

I chewed slowly, having great difficulties with the chunk.  

"I wonder where Michelle is."  Chad said halfheartedly.

"Uhyahyah."  I said through the roll.

"Don't talk until you finish chewing."  The fairy in front of me commanded.  

_In that case I won't be talking for half an hour._

I chewed faster and my jaw began to ache.  I don't really know how I managed, but eventually I got the whole roll down.  

"Ah."  I sighed in relief.

"Do you normally eat like that?"  Chad asked.

"No.  But my food doesn't normally dance or sing either."

Chad looked around the room.  I saw Limab talking to some brunette girl with sparkles all around her face.  She was very lovely.  She was apparently disinterested in Mr. Ean.  Poor lad.  I didn't see many adults in the room and I certainly couldn't find Michelle.

I groaned.                  

"I don't feel so healthy."  I finally said.  

"Well, after seeing you eat that piece of bread, I don't either."  Chad agreed. 

"No, I mean… where's Michelle?  I don't feel like being down here anymore."

"How do you propose we get back to bed?  I certainly don't want to ask one of them," he jerked his head towards a drove of fairies, "to transport us again."

"Ugh, definitely not."  I still felt slightly nauseous from the flight.  "Let's just… try?"

"Yeah, I guess."  We stood and headed for the hall of a hundred staircases.  

"We'll definitely be ready for bed by the time we get back up there."  I moaned. 

"I already am."  Chad said quietly.  "I think this is the right staircase…."

It was two hours before we found our room again.  

Two stinking hours.  

In that time we said barely anything, and wound up crawling the rest of the way up.  Once we got to our room we fell onto the pallet with little more than a grunt.  My eyes immediately closed and I fell deep into slumber. 

(Sorry, it's pathetic, but I'm having so much trouble suddenly with this.  I've been working more or less on my original novels, and I'm really hoping an agent will RESPOND ONE DAY! But no, they are busy.  Thus, a puny ickle chapter.  I hope you enjoyed it anyway.  If anyone has any brilliant ideas, I would certainly be glad to see them.  Love always, Fiery Wordess)


	8. SMASHing

"Psst," I heard a harsh whisper in my ear.  I swatted irritably at the source.  "Cathy!  Wake up!"  There was a definite feminine hint to the voice. 

"Mom, I won't go to school because I have been having a really weird dream and I am lying next to an extremely attractive boy and you just woke me up!"  I mumbled with my eyes shut. 

"Cathy, it's me, Michelle."

My eyes snapped open.  "Oh dear God.  What have I done?"  I looked over to see Chad blushing.  Looking back determinedly at Michelle I nodded to show that I was awake.

"They may have a cure for your curse."

"Really?"  I jumped up ecstatically.

"Well… at least… Cyrillianna and Chelmak are back on this planet."  Michelle whispered her aunt and uncle's names.

"How do you know?"  Chad asked.

"They're downstairs raving about their link leaving Earth furiously to Father."  Michelle said, eyes wide in worry.  "He told us we had to leave.  He thinks I may have been the link and they might try to kidnap me and take me back."

"Link?  Come on, I don't understand."  I shook my head, brain feeling slightly foggy.

"A link is someone or thing that allows for someone from another dimension to stay in a different dimension."  Michelle explained quickly.

"That explains a lot."  Chad said softly. 

"It does?"

"Well," Chad was red again, as we both looked at him, "it would explain why Michelle was supposed to stay on Earth."

"No it doesn't," I remembered, "because they taught Michelle how to leave."

"My father didn't want me to leave yet because… well, he said it was so that I wouldn't be ostracized if I hadn't any magic because of my mother's lack thereof."

"You can't be the link then," I realized, speaking slowly.  Then I smiled.  "Good, we can go down there and get my curse lifted."  I hopped to my feet.

"No!"  Chad and Michelle chimed. 

"Okay, you win.  Why though?"  I stepped back.

"Do you honestly think that they'd lift the curse?"  Chad spluttered.

"They would just use you against your will!"  Michelle whispered loudly. 

There was a "pop" of two arriving fairies. 

The three of us let out triplet cries of fear.

But it was just Limab and the girl who had made fun of him the day before.

"Tricella said she had an idea to help you," Limab said.

"I can try to break your curse," Tricella said, dark eyes shining happily.

"Oh!  Anything!"  I nearly clapped my hands together but the fairies put their fingers to their lips.  "Oh, anything!"  I repeated quietly.

"Listen," my ears perked up, "break your curse of obedience."  Tricella said, beaming at her own cleverness.

"Will that seriously work?"  Chad looked skeptically at Tricella. 

But I was whirling off into my own little world.  I remembered absolutely everything that I had done since I had gotten the curse, ranging from the stop sign to calling every advertisement company that had ever told me to call them.  I recalled the time that in second grade we played goofy name-calling games and a boy had told me I had to kiss him, and I chased after him, pinned him down and kissed him for about ten minutes before he told me to stop. 

Then, it was like something shattered inside of me.

"Hoo-hah!  It worked!"  I practically squealed with delight, but remembered the need to be silent.

"Sit down, Cathy," Michelle tried.

"No," and I didn't.  I did a little dance instead.

"Be cursed, Cathy."  Limab attempted, unable to believe that it had been so simple.

"No thank you."

"Sit now."

"No!"  I continued my jig. 

Chad gaped.  "How could it have worked like that?  When it was so much more difficult for… people in the stories?" 

"Nobody had the fabulous Tricella to help them."  Tricella smiled dreamily.

"You really are my hero after all."  I beamed and ran forward to hug her. 

"You two have to get away, though.  To the capitol preferably, to spread news of this cure."  Limab said, clearing his throat.

"Whatever it takes!"  I punched my hand.

"We're going to transport you three back to where Master Cedric found you."  Limab said, throwing sparkling glitter over the three of them.

"Not…."

It was too late to protest, for the three of us were back in the forest, lying face down in the dirt, dizzy and disoriented.

"Mm, breakfast."  I said.  "Hehe!  I'm not cursed!  BRILLIANT!"

Chad and Michelle grinned at me, Chad looking a little more mystified than Michelle.

"So, we should start heading for the capitol."  Michelle looked at the sky as though judging the hour.  "We don't have all daylight hours ahead of us."

"Michelle, when did you become so… brave?"  I asked, staring at my once fearful friend.

"It's just… you know… being somewhere I belong."  Michelle shrugged, turning away momentarily.  "I wasn't supposed to use magic on Earth, and I really couldn't.  Father helped me fine-tune my skills last night.  I'm certainly nothing phenomenal but I'm better than I was."  Michelle gushed.  Her light eyes filled with tears of joy.  "Cathy, I belong on Kyrria.  It's home."

I nodded and thought of my home back on Earth, realizing I wasn't there.  I didn't miss it at all.  Kyrria, though I'd spent a single day on it, was much more fun.  And curse-free.  Besides, we were about to save Kyrria from a couple of curse-mongers.

"So, we should head to the capitol."  I clapped my hands together.

"Um… wait…."  Chad said, blushing. 

"What?"  Michelle and I looked at Chad curiously.

"Do you think it's such a good idea to go there first?  We could go to Ayortha first.  Word travels faster if we travel a longer distance."  Chad said.

Michelle pondered this.

"Ayortha?"  I asked.  "Is that another planet?  And if so, why do _you_ know about it?"

Michelle stared at Chad.  "How _did _you know about Ayortha?"

"There was a map on the stairwell."  Chad explained.  "I just thought Ayortha was a cool name."

"Oh."  Michelle and I chimed quietly.

"I don't remember that map."

"Well, you probably saw things I don't remember."  Chad shrugged.

"Our instructions were to go to Kyrria's capitol, and besides, none of us speaks Ayorthaian.  Unless Chad picked that language up on the way around the fairy school."  Michelle looked pointedly at Chad, as though wanting him to spill something.

"They speak their own language?"  Chad asked in a half-hearted voice.  "Oh well."

Michelle continued to gaze skeptically at Chad but began walking.

"How do you know which way it is?"  I asked.

"Oh, I just do.  I can sense it."  Michelle explained, shrugging.

"Oh bully, we're depending on your senses."  I teased, feeling extremely light-hearted.  During the trip, Michelle and Chad were silent, but our silence was punctuated about twice a minute by me exclaiming "Guess what?  I'm not cursed!  Hah!  I don't have to obey you!  That's right!  I'm FREE!"  It got old after the first hour went by and Chad mumbled something about wishing he could command me to shut up.  For that, I whacked him over the head.  I think we were energetic because I saw immediately that he intended to chase me for that, so I ran away. 

He chased me into the forest, shouting at me.

"I'm going to wring your neck!" 

"You think!"  I shouted over my shoulder.

"Then I'm going to beat you into a pulp!"  He shouted.

"Your plans sound like fun, but you'll have to catch me first!"  I teased.

I heard him gaining on me, so I sped up. 

"AHH!"  He cried out in a war-like shout as he got closer. 

"AGH!"  I screamed as he sprung up in the air and pinned me down.

"I have caught you, madam."  He said, sitting on my butt and holding my arms as I struggled to escape, laughing all the while.

"So it seems."  I collapsed into the ground, my face getting shoved into the dirt again.  I made mumble-y noises just so he could wonder what I was saying.

"Was that a 'Char, you win, I will worship you from now on and never question your abilities again?'"  Chad teased.

I lifted my head up.  "Not quite."  I gave a final jerk and wrenched myself out of his grip.  "Haha!  I win!  Uh-oh."

Chad had gotten to his feet and was grinning manically.  I turned to run again, but he grabbed me from behind and lifted me off of the ground. We were both breathing heavily, laughing and exhausted.  He started tickling me.

"Okay, you win!  You win!"  He let me go.  I turned to look at him and I grinned uncontrollably.  "Do I have dirt on my face?"

"Yeah," he smiled broadly. 

I wiped it on my sleeve.  "Gone?"

"Still there."

I tried again to rid myself of the dirt. 

"You're missing a spot."  He pointed underneath his left eye.  I wiped under mine.  "No, I'm your mirror, wipe under your right."

"You're my mirror?  When did I turn into a boy?"  I joked, wiping under the other. 

"You're still… oh, come here."  He strode over and wiped away with his hand.  I froze as he touched my face and stared up at him.  Beautiful boys don't touch your face everyday, after all.  This would be a moment remembered in Weird Girl history.  If only I had a scribe nearby.  "There."  He smiled.  "All better."

I almost forgot to respond.  Then I nodded.  "Good." 

He began to drop his hand, but mine shot up reflexively, then I stopped, slapping myself mentally.  Hopefully he hadn't noticed that treacherous little movement. 

"Wait, there's some I missed," he said quietly.  He pointed to the corner of his mouth.  I didn't move to get it, still in a stupor due to his near proximity.  "I'll get it."  He reached slowly up towards my mouth and he touched it, not the corner though. 

_Oh my God he's going to kiss me!  What will I do?  Will I kiss back or will he think I'm a slut?  Will it be a good kiss?  It's going to be my first kiss!  He's so sexy.  Why would this fellow want a girl like me?  A girl who's merely dorky.  Lalalala…I like that play.   Oh my gosh, he's GOING TO KISS ME!  ME!  ME!  Haha!  Oh no!  What will I do?  WHAT WILL I DO!  Why can't I think?  I think I've frozen in place.  I'm stuck here.  Oh dear, time has frozen, and…._

His thumb trailed over to my jaw and he began to bend over to move his face closer to mine.  My heart thudded and I felt my knees shaking.

"Cathy!  Chad!  Where are you?"  Michelle called out.  Chad turned around to look and a pinecone fell on my head.  _Yeah, just add insult to injury, you stupid conifer._

"Should we meet up with her then?"  Chad said, looking back to me and stepping away, turning bright red.  

"Yeah, but… yeah, I guess so."_  BUT WE DIDN'T KISS YET!  WAHHH!_ 

He touched my shoulder.  I automatically reached up to grab his hand, but he had withdrawn it and begun to walk away.  Touching the spot gingerly, I followed him to find Michelle.


	9. Charade

    (Note from your favorite author in the world: "Harry just sort of walked into my head…" J.K. Rowling.

Note from the Wordess of all time: You are all very fun. I enjoy you. I hope you like the next chapter just as much as the rest of them.  I replaced the last one, which had many, many typos.  Three, to be exact.  Heh heh… no more need be said my little quidnuncs.  By the way, some people reviewing this story have gone on to read my favorite not-so-funny fic [there is still humor in it because it's me writing so I just like humor] but they seem unaware that it's a two-part series.  Don't ask why.  I'm not really sure.  Anyway, it goes from Fly Anew to Wings of the Death Flight. Hint, hint.  Well, read this story because Chad is hot and Cathy is cool.)  

I wasn't violent towards Michelle, but I was definitely giving her the cold-shoulder for ruining my chance.  And I sort of stared harshly at every pine tree I saw, but they didn't seem to care.  Neither did Michelle, for that matter.  She chastised us for our childish behavior.  I sort of pursed my lips and looked away, but she didn't mind or even notice.  Stupid fairy-girl. 

Eventually I spoke again because I hate silence.  (Why am I so petrified of silence?)

"Isn't it weird that just yesterday morning we were in school and now we're saving the world?"

Michelle looked taken aback.  "I hadn't thought of that."

"Of course you haven't.  You were too busy yelling at us for having a good time."

"Cathy, you know this is important…."  Michelle started.

"Say not another word."  I put my hand up in her face.  "I will not tolerate your adult-y-ness."

Michelle shook her head, as though I were shorter than she was.  Actually, she is a head shorter than me and a head blonder.  I'm not making sense.  The point was, she was acting all mature and it felt really odd to be put in place by a girl who I had saved from bullying only twenty-four hours prior to this expedition.

It was growing dark, but we had reached a town. 

Actually, a city.

A really _big _city. 

"Yes!  We've reached Ye Old Big Apple."  I exclaimed.

"Kyrria," Michelle and Chad breathed together.

"What?"  I responded, wondering why they were breathing my last name as though it were the holy grounds finally reached.  "Oh," I realized what they were talking about.  "Chad, considering you're supposed to be Earth-boy-hooligan, I'm surprised you're so curious about this place."

Chad shrugged at me, but a small smile crept to his lips.

Luscious lips that I should have kissed.

"There's the castle," Michelle pointed out.

"Ooh, it's big, and castle-like.  Thank you for pointing out, I could never have figured that one out, ye o omnipotent one."  I rolled my eyes. 

"Come on," Michelle ignored me and started striding purposefully in the general direction of the palace. 

"Yes, let us getteth our asses in geareth, Chadeth."  I linked my arm with his and strutted forward.

"Alrighteth, Catheth."  He strode for with me, but looked rather white.  Michelle turned back momentarily to look at us.  Chad immediately withdrew his arm, as though fearing another chastising from the teeny blonde fairy.  But he wasn't looking at Michelle.  He was looking at the people in their lawns and the marketplace.  He swallowed hard and what little color remained in his face drained away. 

_He's just nervous,_ I told myself.  I had no room for fear right then, until someone bumped accidentally into me, and then I realized completely that this wasn't a dream.

"Sweet fruits," I muttered, "I am actually _here._"

The three of us experienced a simultaneous lock-jaw as we walked to the castle.

Candles were being lit in the windows and the outdoor shops were being closed for the evening.  I could smell dinner-smells coming from houses.  It reminded me of my own hunger.  I began nibbling at imaginary food just to amuse myself. 

Chad turned to look at me just as I was biting into an imaginary steak.

"What are you doing?" He came out of his silence and stared at me incredulously.

"I am eating, good sir," I wiped my face with an imaginary napkin.  I blushed anyway.

"You are so bizarre sometimes," he shook his head. 

"And you are so s- normal sometimes."  I had stopped myself from saying "sexy" because… well, it would have sounded weird.

"Snormal?"

"Yes, you are normal as an s."  I made up quickly.

"Am I curvy?"  He asked, frowning.

I cocked an eyebrow.  "That is for you to decide and the mafia to find out."

"What are you talking about?"

I wiggled my eyebrows mysteriously. 

"You are full of random sentences."

"_Je __sais__.  C'est parce que j'aime ton corps et je veux_… kisser… you_._"

"What language is that?"  Chad asked curiously.

"French, of course."  I mimicked a French accent smashingly well. 

Before he could say another word, Michelle spoke.

"We're here," she said softly.

The castle loomed before us, the doors guarded by two men in green uniforms.  We walked slowly up to the door when Chad stopped.

"No, I can do this," he mumbled to himself, "it's been years."

I didn't make any wisecracks because I sensed bile rising in my throat for fear.

"What business do you have here?"

"We are here to speak with Queen Ella."  Michelle said in a trembling voice.

"And to what purpose?"  The guard asked.

"We have news from the fairies about…."

"Oh, yes," a guard turned pale, "go in." 

The three of them were admitted in through the door.  One of the guards scrutinized Chad closely.

"Did you see him?"  One guard asked the other in a low rumble as the doors swung shut behind us.

"Your leather jacket is a cause for much talk."  I wagged my finger at him.

Chad looked at me with a twinkle in his eye.  Ah, that was our unborn child.  A twinkle in its daddy's eye.  Hehe, I'm so stupid.  The twinkle, though, was caused by a torch on the wall. 

We wandered silently to the end of the corridor and into the main chamber, were the royalty was feasting in their finery.  At the head of the table sat a man with a crown perched on his head.  His hair was graying at the temples and his eyes were wrinkled.  Next to him sat a middle-aged woman with a crown on her head as well.  My eyes were drawn immediately back to the king, who while laughing mirthfully, struck me suddenly.

"Hey, he looks just like you," I nudged Chad in the ribs.  "Only old and kingly."

The royalty turned and saw the three of us.  Both Michelle and Chad immediately sank to their knees, Chad bowing his head low as though hiding his face.  I sort of stared at them, wondering what the heck they were doing.  I saw the King's eyebrows shoot up and he smiled at me. 

"Oops, sorry," I got down clumsily.

"No, rise the three of you and look me in the eye."  The king stood and walked over to us.  The queen stood and joined him, linking her arm lovingly in his.  Michelle and I were the first to rise but Chad did so reluctantly. 

"What can I do for you?"  He started pleasantly.

"King Charmont…."  Michelle started.

"King Char, please," he said automatically.

_Char.  Hm._ 

"Yes, King Char… my name is Michelle.  I am the daughter of Cedric of the fairies, who is half-brother to the children of Lucinda."  The hall gasped collectively.  "But I bring news of the two whom have caused much havoc upon these lands."

"And how to lift the worst curse in the worlds," I spluttered.  I thought Michelle was taking a ridiculously long time with all of these formalities.

King Char's attention came swiftly back to me.

"What curse is this?"

"Obedience, of course."  I said.  Michelle's neck was red.  I could tell that she hadn't wanted me to speak up at all.

The queen laughed.  "Yes, I can attest to that."

King Char looked up at Chad who was standing next to me, head bowed.

"Why do you not look me in the eye, sir?"

Chad didn't respond.

"Chad?  Are you okay?"  I squinted concernedly at him. 

Chad's face slowly came up, white as a sheet.

A hush came over the hall as they looked at him.

"Char?"  The queen whispered, tears coming to her eyes.

"Yes, Mother, it's me."  Chad… um… Char… um, what?                        

(Okay, so you're all despicably clever.  Very good.  By the way, the curse is broken for Cathy.  I just wanted to put this in here because I can't believe no one ever tried that cure for Ella; it always drove me berserk.  Sheesh.)


	10. Answers and Dancers

We were taken to a private parlor, just the five of us.  A waitress came in with platters of food for our aching bellies.  Neither the king nor queen said a word to their renegade son.  Michelle and I wandered wide-eyed in their wake until we had arrived into the room.  The king and queen sat in separate seats leaving the three of us to sit on a sofa.  The two royal parents stared at their son in bafflement, unsure how to react.  Finally the queen spoke.

"We thought… you… were dead, Char."  Her voice was tremulous.  The king didn't utter a word but grasped the arms of his chair firmly, as though to stop his hands from shaking. 

Chad… Char… didn't say a word but looked down into his lap like a chastised child. 

"What happened to you?"  Queen Ella said softly. 

"Chelmak and Cyrillianna saw me on my ninth birthday,"

"Oh," Ella shook her head and closed her eyes, remembering the day.

"They asked me how I'd like to run away.  So they took me to Earth and took care of me for awhile, then… I ran away from them.  Nine years later, here I am with the girls who brought me here.  Cathy, who was cursed by Cyrillianna and Michelle, the daughter of Cedric."  Chad spoke quietly.  "But the fairies came back once we did."

_POP!_ 

"Mrs. Cook!"  Michelle and I chimed at the sight of the suddenly arriving person. 

"Mandy!"  Char, the king and queen cried in unison. 

"Cathy," Mrs. Cook scolded, "I told you to wait for a week!"  She wagged a finger at me.

"Are you a fairy too?"  I asked, thinking nothing would surprise me ever again.

"Yes, I am.  The minute that Chelmak and Cyrillianna came storming into my office asking where you were, I went looking for you."  Mrs. Cook, or Mandy, or whatever, said breathlessly, still glaring at me. 

"What?  I thought that Chad- Char was the link!"  Michelle gasped.

Mandy shook her head.  "Just a hostage."

"I thought that Michelle was!"  Chad/Char looked astounded.

"Just a relative."  Mandy shook her head, and her curly hair bounced about her face. 

"What the hell is the link?"  I finally burst. 

Mandy turned to face me.  "A fairy who goes to Earth can only stay for so long without returning to Kyrria, for there isn't supposed to be magic on Earth.  They had to find one who was both of Earth and Kyrria, thus you, and curse you to keep their magic strong on Earth.  The minute you left, their powers began to dwindle on Earth and every curse that they laid there began to fail."

"What about you?"  Michelle asked.

"My own powers were restored once a month by returning here."  Mandy explained quickly.  "But I never used them other than to return here, unlike the sibling fairies." 

"Char was a hostage?"  The queen asked, rising from her seat slowly. 

Mandy turned to look lovingly upon the queen.  "Yes, they intended to use him to gain your allegiance to their cause.  But it was by chance that he arrived upon Michelle and Cathy fleeing from Earth."

The queen sat back down in her seat and Mandy took a seat on the other side of the room.  I took a sip of water.  My stomach let out a huge grumble and I knew it was feeding time, no matter how dark the situation at hand.  I began to prod my food and bring it towards my mouth.  Everyone watched me and Chad began his own meal as well, followed soon by Michelle.  After we had finished our meals, I leaned back, stomach proud to be a part of my body again. 

"Now, you three have come with news," the king said, looking back to his son with darting eyes full of sadness. 

"Yes," Michelle began quickly, "there is a cure for the curse of Obedience."

Ella's ears perked up.

"It's really kind of lame, actually," I said, stopping Michelle before she could say another word.  "Basically, you just tell the Obedient to break their curse as a command.  They have no choice and the curse is broken.  I just had it broken this morning.  Wow," I raised my eyebrows.  "This morning.  It seems like days ago."  I looked at Mandy sharply.  "Do the days take longer on Kyrria than on Earth?"

Mandy shook her head with a faint smile. 

"It sure feels that way," I said stubbornly. 

"Father also wanted to let you know that Chelmak and Cyrillianna are back on Kyrria, presently searching for Cathy."

King Char put his fingers to his forehead and rubbed.  "All right.  Let us think about this in the morning.  I'm sure the day has been long for all of you, not just Cathy.  We'll have someone show you to your rooms.  Char…."  He looked at his son. 

I grabbed Michelle's hand and dragged her out of the room to allow the family to have their reunion in privacy. 

"These rooms are huge," I said flatly to Michelle. 

Michelle nodded meekly, once again lapsing into softness. 

"What do they do with all of this space?  I mean, they could have some wild, crazy cool parties."  I babbled.  I touched all of the finery.  The blankets were a soft texture and the sheets had to be silk.  The tapestries were amazing in detail and the carpets even had their own illustrations.  The lamps were ornate and usually a precious metal decorated with precious gems.  In my room there was a bookshelf that took over half of the room.  The books looked boring, actually, all histories and stupid things like that.

"We should probably get some sleep."  Michelle yawned.  "See you tomorrow, Cathy."

"Sleep well, my funky fairy." 

Michelle left my room and closed the door behind her.  I sat down on my bed and stared in wonder at the intricate designs of the canopy above.  I wasn't sleepy anymore, but intrigued by the room around me.  One of the tapestries relayed a scene of a unicorn rearing up to meet the gentle touch of a winged fairy with flowers in her hair.  Another had two centaurs holding hands and frolicking away together in a field of roses.  I stood from my bed and wandered back to the bookshelf.

"There is a whole section on Ayortha," I whispered incredulously to no one.  I pulled a book out and opened it up.  "Crap, what is this language?  San skrit?  Oh, right, Ayorthian," I blushed at my own stupidity.  I put the book back in its place and wandered down the line.

There was a book that read "fairy tales" that caught my interest.  Finally, something I could relate to.  I hoped that it had Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty.  I loved those stories.  I pulled it out and stared in wonder at the first page.  There was a gorgeous illustration of Sleeping Beauty with a basket on her arm.  Nothing cheesy like the Disney drawing, but a statuesque girl with flowing blonde hair and soft eyes.  The picture was actually moving.  I read the story and smiled at the ending.  It was a bit different than I was used to, because the wicked fairy's story was a lot sadder than I had expected.  I could relate to her.  She had been cast out of her order by a jealous teacher, who knew that Maleficent was more talented and beautiful than she.  She had become a fairy pariah. 

I closed the book and reopened it to make sure that I hadn't missed any illustrations, but the story had changed!  I gasped and stared at the picture.  It was of _me_!  There was a map by it.  I was grinning in the picture and pointing to the map.  There was an X and a dotted line leading to the castle in Kyrria where I now was.  I flipped to the next page and saw a young boy in a fancy tunic walking through the gardens with a sad look on his face.  The caption read "Prince Char, age 9."  A story next to it read about how his older brother was so much more talented than he and everyone loved him more.  Even on his birthday he was forgotten for the sake of his brother. 

That's when I realized that this was Chad Char. 

The next page had a picture of him chasing me through the forest.  We were laughing.  I smiled because of the memory.  Then thought back to the would-be kiss.  _Damned pinecone.  _

I sighed and turned the page and found a story called Ella Enchanted.  There was a picture of Queen Ella at what must have been a younger age.  I read the entire story until a few hours later when I finally finished it.  I cried when she had to lie to Char about being Hattie.  That made me positively sob. 

"I wish I was a heroine of a fairy tale," I touched her smiling picture.  "She was enchanted because of the proper alliteration, but no, I had to be named Cathy, so therefore I am cursed.  _Quelle_ crap."

There were a lot of C's on this planet.  Chelmak, Cedric, Cyrillianna, and Cathy.  Curses.  Crap.  There were probably cats.  Chad.  Char. 

(A/N: I just realized this and I thought that was exciting, so I shared it with you.  Sorry.  I'm crazy like that.)

Kyrria was the planet of alliteration. 

I yawned and leaned back into the wall, closing the book and hoping for a new story again. 

There was a knock on the door.  I yipped and jumped up.

"Come in!"  I said clearly, holding the book by my side. 

Chad Char walked in, looking tired with rings under his eyes.

"Hey Chadar," I said, messing up his name yet again.

"Hi," he said softly, walking slowly towards me.  "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," I told him.  "You?"  I pushed my hair behind my ear.  I had let it out of its ponytail so I could sleep.  Not that I went to sleep, mind you, but my initial intentions were to sleep.  Right. 

Char nodded, his hair falling into his face.  "It's strange to be back home."  He admitted.

"I'll bet," I responded uncomfortably.  I didn't really know what he was going through.  I had barely given any thought to my family, who was probably celebrating my loss at the moment.  "I just read your story," I showed him the book. 

He quirked his eyebrows.  "That's Mom's fairy book."

"Yeah, it's cool."  I grinned. 

"What do you mean by my story?"

"Why you ran off and all.  How's your brother doing?"

"He's off fighting dragons or something right now.  He's coming home next month."  Char said quietly. 

I could tell he was feeling down again.  I put my hand on his arm and squeezed.

"I don't know your brother or anything, but you're a really neat guy.  I wouldn't trade you for anyone, and I don't think your parents would either.  Your brother may be older, but that doesn't matter.  To me, at least.  And I lo- am your friend.  It shouldn't matter to you either."    

What was I babbling about?  Great, now he probably hated me.

But no.  He smiled at me and took my hand in his own.  I smiled back at him it what I hoped was an encouraging way.  Hell, I'd settle for sexy.  I hoped desperately that there was nothing in my teeth.  I probably think too much.

"I lo- am your friend too."  Wonderful.  He was making fun of me now.  I had nearly told him that I loved him but had made enough errors for the day.  He must have noticed the slip after all.  He was a clever, clever lad. 

"Shall we tango?"  I burst out suddenly.  I put my hand on his other hand and put it on my waist then put my hand on his shoulder and began to step to the side.  He smiled, restraining a laugh and followed me.  "Da, dadada DA."  I sang softly.  "Now, this is the tricky part," I said.  "We switch directions." 

I threw my head back and looked to the other side. 

"Okay, we have tangoed enough for one evening, my good sir."  I said, letting go of his hand.  "Besides, it just doesn't work without a flower for my teeth." 

His fatigue seemed to have subsided.  He looked vastly healthier.  His lips looked even more inviting.  Hair had fallen in front of his eyes again.  Instinctively, I moved it behind his ear. 

"Thank you," he grabbed my hand before I could move away, put his other behind my back.  I put my hand on the other side of his head and willed Michelle to stay in her room this time.  She wouldn't be ruining another kiss.

He leaned forward a little more quickly than the last time.  He whispered to me: "You aren't escaping this time."

"I didn't ever want to."  I responded softly. 

He pressed his lips softly against my own.  They were so warm and soft I felt as though my soul would drain into him.  My first kiss.         


	11. Dressy

(A/N: to my favorite people… you should be proud of me… I learned from Cathy and when someone was grabbing my hands, I pulled one away and cried "care to tango?" and did just that! But he was my cousin, so there was no kissing going on there. Another proud moment wasted on a relative.)

After Char went back to his own room, I sort of stood there gaping like a buffoon at the window. He told me that he would see me in the morning, but I didn't think he would have to wait that long because I'd be having dreams about him. Letting out a silent shout of triumph, I moon-walked across the floor and shook my hips about.

"My first kiss! Ooh, my first kiss! With a PRINCE! Woo… woo… WOO!" I sang tunelessly under my breath. My energy seemed boundless, until I collapsed in an exhausted heap on my bed and slept a dreamless and very restful sleep. The next morning I woke up right before sunrise, smiled at the fact I was in a comfy bed, snuggled down deeper, and went back to sleep.

"Cathy," someone whispered right next to my ear. "Cathy!"

"AH!" I screamed as I saw two gigantic eyes staring down at me. Naturally, I sat up, whacked the person in the face with my forehead and crumpled down again. "Oops," I moaned, "sorry Michelle. But what on _Earth _were you doing whispering right over me?"

"Sorry," looked down sheepishly while rubbing her cheek. "I just thought you might want to get up before the council started."

"Do we have to go to that? And how come you know about it and I don't?"

Michelle sighed. "We'll be called as witnesses, most likely, at some point or another. And my father told me because he's here."

"Oh." I felt dizzy and sat up slowly, leaning on my elbow. "What are you wearing?"

She was dressed in a glittering periwinkle gown. In her hair she had woven small blue flowers and around her eyes was glitter.

"Do you like it?" She asked, blushing.

"You look like a fairy princess," I said nodding. "Why so dressy?"

"We must look nice before the council." She looked at the rumpled jeans and shirt at the foot of the bed distastefully.

"Ooh, do I get to dress up too? Or will I be confined to my happy Earth clothing?" I nearly clapped in excitement.

"Naturally, the former." Michelle started pulling me forcefully out of bed. "We must get you dressed and ready."

I had never really dressed up in my entire life. My stepmother was against spending money on dresses and such without good reason.

"If you ever get a date to prom," she would squawk at me, "then we'll get you something nice."

_Take that stepmother dearest!_

Michelle took my hand.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Sure," I grinned.

She said something under her breath and I felt myself flying. And then I felt myself slamming down into a squashy armchair.

"Welcome to Lucinda's Lingerie and Lovely Laces… oh, Michelle, it's you again? You don't like your dress?" Then the older fairy turned and saw me. "Oh! The cursed one! What can I do for you?"

"I think my spine is broken," I moaned, rubbing my back. "I want to write my will before Michelle flies us back."

Michelle glared at me. "She needs a dress. And some make-up."

Lucinda's eyes lit up. "Of course!"

Two hours and forty-three seconds later….

"I still don't understand why you get a _blue _dress and I'm stuck with this white thing. I feel like a bride." We stood in my room. I looked at my ridiculously lacey skirts and spun around. "And I still don't know how ridiculous I look!"

"Look in the mirror," Michelle sighed, sick of my complaining. "And I don't know what's wrong with you. You look amazing."

I cringed as I stepped in front of the mirror. And then I stopped cringing, gaping instead.

"Well _now _you don't look amazing. You look like a simpleton in a gorgeous dress."

I straightened up. "Wow," I looked at myself again. My long sandy hair fell over my shoulders, woven with small white rosebuds and my face was every bit as lovely as Michelle's. Lucinda had managed somehow to make my eyes look… beautiful. See, I have gray eyes. Boring gray eyes lined with sandy lashes. I am not beautiful. But I looked really quite lovely right then. But I did look like a bride. Crystal jewels hung at my throat, looking like diamonds and beaded my dress as well.

I giggled. "I feel pretty! Oh so pretty! Pretty and witty and straight!"

"Gay, Cathy, it's gay. Gay meaning happy."

"Oh." I blushed.

There was an important sounding knock on the door. Michelle bid them come in. A pompous-looking man in puffy shorts and tights stood in the doorway. A ridiculous mustache lined his upper lip, curling idiotically at the sides.

"His Majesty King Charmont requests the presence of the Lady Michelle and Commoner Cathy." He rolled up the parchment he had been reading from and looked at us from his pouchy eyes. "Please follow me," he turned and led the way. I watched his strangely elevated butt bounce on every other step. Soon my head started bobbing along with it. Michelle, noticing, slapped my shoulder rather roughly, so I stopped.

At the end of the hall, I could see two imposing wooden doors closed to us but from them an authoritive voice could be heard.

Our fat guide knocked on the door and it opened to reveal rows of people listening to a judge-like figure dressed all in black as he debated the possibilities. Before them stood Chelmak and Cyrillianna. My heart swooped and I entered.

(A/N: Sorry it's short. And not really all that brilliant either. The next chapter should be a wee bit funnier and longer. AND I HIT A HUNDRED REVIEWS! Sorry, that still makes me happy-wappy happy-doo.)


	12. Messy

(A/N: Quantum, thanks for your critique. I very much appreciate it. Yeah, I'm aware that Michelle's a little weird. I actually realized that partway through writing it, but I'll try to make amends if I can. I think she was always a bit bossy; she just never had any power on Earth, if that makes any sense. And you're right; the relationship between Cathy and Chadar is just way too convenient. I'll work on that. I honestly was hoping no one would notice how weak this plot can be, but ah well. You've caught me, so now I have to try and toughen it up a bit, eh?

Oh, and thanks very much to BLUE who helped me get inspired for this chapter and the bum bum end! Which is not this chapter…erm, you get the idea.)

"Please come and stand before me," a man with a ridiculous-looking wig commanded. Michelle and I walked cautiously up to him, perfectly aware of the crowd watching us anxiously. They were all dressed as absurdly as we were. The renegade fairies that had inflicted their curse upon me so many years ago were in chains and glaring defiantly at me. I had never seen the man before, but the woman's lovely face was branded in my memory. It was all I could do to resist sticking my tongue out at her again, but last time I had done that, that had resulted in years of torture. "Commoner Cathy, please take the stand."

My eyebrows shot up as I walked around to the seat. I realized that the judge had been talking to us and all I had been doing was thinking of ways to get some first-class revenge on the fairy Cyrillianna. I sat cautiously in the chair and my skirts foofed about me. No, I was not meant to be royalty. I was made of stronger stuff, like a court jester or town fool.

"Commoner Catherine," a man who looked like a hawk came up to me, his beady eyes focused on my face. His eyes were yellow. That was pretty creepy.

"Ew, nobody calls me Catherine." I said without thinking.

A chuckle passed over the silent courtroom.

"Commoner Cathy, then," the hawk-man continued smoothly, a slight tinge coming to his ashen cheeks. "How is it you came to Kyrria?"

"Um… that is a true mystery of magic. I don't understand it. Michelle and I were running away from a bully and then our principal, who is a fat oaf, and then we wound up here. Since Michelle's a fairy, she said a few magic words and voila." I shrugged, lacking a certain dignity. In the center of the crowd one an elevated platform was the royal family. Char looked unusually royal in a white jacket and a red sash across his front. He smiled encouragingly at me. The king was frowning slightly, clearly trying to glean whatever he could from me. The queen was fiddling with her skirt.

"You have never before been to Kyrria, correct?"

"Right." I nodded.

"How is it you came to meet Chelmak and Cyrillianna?"

"I never met Chelmak, but Cyrillianna and I go way back to when I was a wee spotty lass." I glared at Cyrillianna. "She cursed me with Obedience."

"But you don't have this curse anymore?"

"No. A girl from the fairy academy broke it."

"Did she? How?" He asked curiously.

"She told me to break it, it was a command, so I had to."

"Excellent," Cyrilliana laughed, no, cackled. I can only imagine that the court looked puzzled. I can only imagine whether or not Char stood up quickly to stop whatever was going to happen. I can only imagine Michelle squealing and ducking into the skirts of her poofy dress. I can imagine a good deal of things, but I suppose these things really may have happened. But you see, I don't know because… well… it was very fast. Before I knew what was happening, Cyrilliana and her brother had undone themselves from their chains. Not a second passed before I had been grabbed by the waist, a few words spat by my ear, and the world spun before my eyes.

"That's it!" I screeched. "You didn't even give them a long-winded explanation! Isn't that some sort of Bad-Guy Code? 'Give Good Guys a long-winded explanation so that sexy hero may rescue sexy heroine.'"

"Life isn't like your stupid movies, Cathy, now be quiet."

The curse was back. My mouth was shut.

All right, all right, I know you're wondering what happened between paragraphs. Rewind for a second folks:

It was a dark and scary afternoon, when out of the rain we came. We were the three weird-looking fools from Kyrria. Chelmak and Cyrillianna had whisked me back to Earth, but some godforsaken place that I had never seen before. However, I knew where we must have been.

"Wyoming." I had muttered, looking at the yellow grassy lumps of land. "Home to sixteen people."

It had been a wise choice on their part to go somewhere so lowly populated. Somehow they had managed to procure a car. A nice one too. The seats were leather. My clothing had changed back to normal Earth clothes. Normal for the late Stone Age, I mean. It looked like an outfit from the Flintstones or something. It was even leopard patterned. Lucky me. Bam-bam! The car was sweltering hot in the back. The best part was (I know you're excited) that I was bound hand and foot with magical rope.

Magically tight, itchy, and rope-like.

I was subdued. Silent. Cursed. The first thing that had happened when we returned was Cyrillianna. Yes, she was the first thing that happened, and possibly the worst. She cursed me.

I pressed my nose against the window and breathed mist onto it. Then I drew a face with my tongue. It was a happy face. With freckles. We passed a green sign on the road that read "The Community." It seemed to represent the town standing next to it. A town being one trailer.

_She didn't tell me how long I had to be quiet. She just said _now _which indicated what is now _then.

I looked back at the fairies. They were both pretty to look at. Cyrillianna, with her long golden hair and large violet eyes, had a very pleasant face. She looked kindly if you didn't know how evil she really was. She even smelled nice, like sweet flowers. Chelmak was handsome in a princely way. His face was strong, yet sweet. He looked innocent and daring. His eyes were an intense hazel and his hair a wavy blonde. If I didn't know that he was also Satan's favorite helper, I would have thought _rrrow, let me get a piece of that hunky monkey._

I started humming to test my power of sound. It was back.

_Good._

I inhaled deeply and began. "I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves! Everybody's nerves! Everybody's NERVES! Oh- I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves and this is how it goes! Bum-bum-bum! Oh- I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves! Every-."

Cyrillianna spun in her seat. Chelmak was driving and his hands jerked slightly on the wheel.

"Stop singing that horrible song!" She hissed. "I thought I told you to be quiet!"

"Too right, madam!" Then, before she could say anything else, I started another song. "THIS IS THE SONG THAT NEVER ENDS! LALALALA! IT JUST GOES ON AND ON MY FRIENDS! SOME PEOPLE STARTED SINGING IT NOT KNOWING WHAT IT WAS! AND NOW THEY'LL JUST KEEP SINGING IT FOREVER JUST BECAUSE…."

"CHELMAK! PULL OVER!" Cyrillianna covered her ears and shouted at her brother. I was in choir at school. I knew how to sing over lots of people. Muah haha.

The car swerved to the side of the dusty road and the engine stopped. However, if you were in the car, you wouldn't have heard it because I had just gotten to my third round of the song that never ended. The door that I had been leaning against jerked open and I toppled out, knees akimbo as I curled into the fetal position. Chelmak towered above me, looking furious.

"Hey, sexy," I winked up at him. That hurt. I think I had scraped my face on the street.

He looked a little perplexed, and then he shook his head and used his magic to levitate me into the air. Cyrillianna came around from her side of the car to glare at me too.

"You know, they say three's a crowd,"

Cyrillianna and Chelmak were not amused.

"You are the most obnoxious human we have ever had the misfortune of coming across," Chelmak hissed.

"Hey, your idea, not mine," I spat. "Remember who cursed who." The Wyoming sun beat down on my exposed shoulder and neck. The ropes were really beginning to irritate my delicate flesh.

"Oh, that's right," Chelmak grinned nastily. "Be quiet until one of us gives you permission to speak."

_NO! _I opened my mouth to try and spit out a retort. _NO! _I couldn't say a thing!

"Good thinking," Cyrillianna smirked. "That'll keep the chick from peeping."

_Ooh, you're so witty._

They threw me back in the car and we continued driving to wherever it was they were taking me. And I couldn't move or be obnoxious in any noticeable way.


	13. Pooboo

(A/N: watrfairie, you were curious as to why Chelmak and Cyrillianna hadn't attempted to escape before. I had thought it would be obvious, but I guess I was wrong. They need Cathy in order to go back to Earth so they were just waiting for a chance to find her. Hope that helps!)

And so went the car ride. It was silent and torturous. My dress had ridden further up my ass. I had just been through the three weirdest days of my life in a row and now it was probably going to end with some bizarre form of ritual sacrifice. We reached a tall hill that was covered in dead brown grass, a huge inconsistency from what we had already seen. Not. At the top of the hill was what could be described as the most luxurious trailer in all the world. It was long, silver and wide. It must have taken up two lanes of traffic when toted along. Chelmak drove up to the trailer and killed the engine.

"Welcome home, Cathy Kyrria."

I rolled my eyes irritably. It had always been my dearest ambition to live in Wyoming in a trailer on a tall hill of dead grass. Sadly, my hopes had been dashed when I realized that trailers were small, Wyoming had little water, and dead grass was ugly. Now it seemed that my dreams were rolling back to me.

Chelmak assisted me generously out of the backseat and hoisted me under his arm.

"You're hefty," he laughed.

_You are the bane of all adolescent females. It's bastards like you that make us anorexic. I hate you. _I wanted to say. Since I couldn't, I twisted around and bit him on the stomach. It was hard to get a hold of any skin, but once I managed, he was not a happy camper. He cried out and nearly dropped me. _Now, wouldn't you have preferred the verbal response? _

"She bit me!" He cried to his sister.

"Make her walk." Cyrillianna waved her hand and undid the ropes around my ankles. Chelmak held me by my hair, which, in case it wasn't apparent, hurt a lot. So I walked all the way to the trailer without giving the son of a fairy trouble. The sky above us had begun to darken with approaching night. Night was a good time to start feeling despair.

_I feel despair,_ I thought sadly. Chelmak hauled me into the trailer and I was shoved onto the floor by Cyrillianna. The trailer was indeed luxurious, but I felt nothing in the way of awe. Crappy or cosmic, I was still a hostage.

"Is the chamber ready?" Cyrillianna asked her brother.

"Yes," Chelmak peered at the end of the trailer. "Toss her in?"

"Of course,"

Chelmak winched me up again and dragged me down to the far side of the trailer. We passed through a spacious kitchen, a lavish bedroom, and a sitting room. The last room had a pallet, a toilet, a sink, and a shower. But no windows. At least they believed in hygiene. Before abandoning me, Chelmak undid the ropes around my wrists.

"Enjoy your stay, Highness," he bowed and slammed the door behind himself. Then, through a small slot in the door he spoke to me again. "Food will come later."

_Okay._ I thought. _I'll be here._ _Thank you for insuring my survival in captivity. _

Ah, what a wonderful life I led. I fell onto my pallet and began to scratch the red areas where the rope had cut into my skin. It hurt but it felt good. One of those weird paradoxes of life. Man, my outfit was so wacky. It was over one shoulder, short, and just so Pebbles. Why in the world would they put me in this of all things? Why did they change my outfit at all? Probably the white atrocity was too foofy. My room was ill-lit, only a few lights on the walls, small, and boring. I half-wished that he had left the ropes around my wrists. At least that way I'd have something to entertain myself with. I could struggle to chew them off or something.

I wanted to talk, sing, be obnoxious, abuse Michelle, see Char and smooch his face off. Well, not literally, because that would be messy and gross. Sighing, I walked over to the toilet, took a piddle, washed my hands and sat back down.

_Wow, that was exciting._

"Cathy," Chelmak peeped through the flap at me. "I have your dinner." He opened the door and came in. I glared at him and realized that didn't do me any good, so I changed tact and looked at the soup he had instead. It looked good. Smelled good. Soon I would discover that it tasted good as well. I sat on my pallet eating ravenously. It was vegetable soup. I loved vegetable soup.

I sighed inaudibly in satisfaction.

"Done?"

I nodded. Then I gave him a puppy-dog look, rather hoping he would ask what was wrong and allow me to speak.

He didn't seem to notice. I made my eyes bigger. He still didn't notice. I stretched them as far as they could go. He took the bowl and made a funny face.

"What the hell are you doing?"

_I can't respond, bozo. _I made my lip tremble.

"Oh I get it, you want me to give you permission to make noise."

I nodded eagerly and gave him my award-winning grin.

"Sorry," he left and slammed the door behind him.

_BASTARD! BLOODY WANKER! EFFING MAGGOT! I HOPE YOU DIE A THOUSAND DEATHS! RARR!_ I slammed my fists furiously on the door until I realized that it hurt.

_I hate being cursed, so much! _I sniffed quietly and cried a bit. I curled up into a ball on my pallet and fell asleep.

The next morning, or what must have been morning, I was awoken by Chelmak serving me toast and eggs. At least they fed me well. Maybe they planned to fatten me up and feed me to the Wicked Witch of the West Coast. I chewed, swallowed, chewed, and swallowed some more. Chelmak stood watch, as though making sure I didn't try to stab myself with the fork. I had a low threshold for pain, so he needn't have worried, but I wasn't about to tell him that. For one thing, it would make his life easier, and for the more important point, I still wasn't able to talk.

_Shubedooshadoobedodow…_ in my head I sang a song from the middle school musical _One Magic Moment._ I had been a "Shalala" Waitress. What a waste of life. I danced around desks and sang a dorky song about a waitress who had stalked some customer. Bah. But I'd had to do it because my teacher told me to. Well, she hadn't meant it to be a command, but she said "you should get involved more, do the play, Cathy." I auditioned, got a lame part and voila, I was dancing around tables.

Chelmak was tapping his foot impatiently. I nibbled at my toast, deciding to try and annoy him.

"Eat faster," he finally blurted. "I don't have all day,"

_But I do._ Still, I ate a smidgeon faster. Two could play at this game.

"That's not faster," he frowned. "I said 'eat faster.'"

It wasn't a command. I continued my nibbling.

"Oh! You're evading the command as best you can! Eat that piece of toast in less than twenty seconds." He commanded.

_Shit. _I shoved the entire thing into my mouth and began to chew. I looked at him and chewed with my mouth open, making nasty smacking sounds with my lips. It had the desired effect, he looked ill.

"Chew with your mouth closed, you pig," his lip curled.

So I did. I swallowed and licked my lips obnoxiously and then started nibbling the second piece slowly.

"Eat that one in less than twenty seconds with your mouth closed," he thought he was so clever.

I lifted an eyebrow at him. I started trying to ram the toast in through my closed lips. It was difficult and I wasn't doing very well.

"Open your mouth and put the toast in!" He stomped his foot impatiently.

I threw it in and started chewing disgustingly again.

"Ah! There's no stopping you, is there?"

I looked at him and raised my eyebrows.

"What?"

I raised them higher. _Give me an invitation to speak. _I swallowed.

"All right, you can tell me," he sighed.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "If you let me speak and sing and make noise, I won't be such an obnoxious and disgusting eater anymore, I promise."

I paused, hoping upon hope that he'd let me.

"Why would you care? You're all alone in here."

"Because," I explained, "I have always enjoyed talking to myself and singing and stuff. Sound proof the room, you're a fairy, but let me have my voice."

"All right, fine."

"Woo!" I cheered, upsetting my eggs. "Oops." I picked them up off of my pallet and gathered them hastily on my plate. "Bottom's up!" I dug in and ate quickly and neatly. He left looking a bit surprised but didn't forget to slam the door behind him, reminding me of my prison.

"But I've got a voice!" I said to the room. "Oh yes I do! Shubedoosha and shubedoodoo!"

So that was how my first week of captivity went. I'd be fed two times a day, Chelmak watching me. I only showered at night. I thought about trying to drown myself but in the end, not only was it pointless, but I had never truly thought myself capable of suicide, no matter how bored or depressed I was. I sang, I danced (more like flailing around), I had goofy conversations with myself and I had deep and theoretical conversations with famous people or Char or my family. I wondered if they missed me. They probably did in all reality, but most of the time I felt like an unnecessary addendum to the family.

I haven't said much about my family, and the little I've said isn't nice. They're really not that horrible. My real mother divorced my father for some wealthy old businessman named Harold Asher Cutler the Sixth when I was about four, so that has never really bothered me all that much. I haven't seen or heard from her since. From what Dad ever said about her, it sounded like the only thing she ever thought of me was that I caused stretch marks to appear on her once perfect tummy. You'd think I would feel unloved and worthless because of that, but that's not why. I just have a natural inferiority complex. My mother is the past and I don't even remember what she looks like. Nor do I care. My Dad worked a lot, mostly put me in daycare until he met my stepmother. Jeanette is a nice enough lady, but she is a stick-up-the-ass businesswoman in the end. Her kids are actually my half-siblings except for the oldest one, who's off in college anyway. I never really talk to him, though I do hate him for setting the standard so high. Yeah, he got into Duke, the worthless slut. My little half-sister and half-brother are twins, obviously not identical. Jeanette usually used me as a free babysitter until they got a bit older. They're cute, but man are they evil. Some of the pranks they've come up with are pretty creepy. Funny, but creepy because they're only seven. They're wicked smart. Once I've graduated and moved, my family will probably never think about me again. Well, maybe during the winter holiday season, but that's about it.

"If I survive this, it will be interesting to see their reactions," I muttered.

Jeanette isn't an evil stepmother, but it's clear to me that she would have found wedding my father much easier if I hadn't been around. Whenever I get into a fight with her, she accuses me of hating her for taking my mother's place, which is hardly true.

"You just don't want me here! You treat me like a wicked stepmother!" She'd whine. "I don't mean to take your mother's place but-."

"What, you mean as the woman who ran off with a smelly old man?" I would always respond. "She has no place here save for half my genes, which would explain why I'm so attracted to older men."

And then she'd get even angrier at me and tell me not to be such a smartass.

Still, home was much better than this little confinement zone I was stuck in.

One night I fell asleep and had a dream that I could fly. So I flew around my room for a bit and then decided to fly through the wall. Somehow it worked and seemed perfectly acceptable in my dream. So I flew all the way to Africa where I found Char sitting on a kangaroo's back.

"Hello, Char, you look mighty hoppy tonight," I said.

"I'm just hoppy to see you, Cathy," he said, grinning deviously at me. "Get on a kangaroo," he told me. "We can hop together forever."

"But Char," I said logically. "There aren't any kangaroos in Africa."

"Oh no! You're right! He said. "I'd better put this one back where I found it!"

"Yes, but you look so comfortable,"

"I am," he agreed. "But you look like you're stuck in a fancy trailer in the ugliest room in the world."

"Ah, so I do," I sighed. "Let's go fly a kite."

"I hate kites," he said bluntly. "They're really mean and they live in Wyoming with evil fairies."

"Oh, I guess you're right," I hadn't known that.

"It's okay, Cathy, you can still be my boo."

"I don't swing that way. You'd better wash your mouth out with soap or you'll fail your driver's test."

And then I woke up. But I wasn't alone.


	14. Madly Ever After

Jumping up, I squealed slightly, moving away from the person as fast as I could.

But the foot followed me!

Who was in bed with me?

"Oh, it's me." It was my foot, it was just tangled up in the covers poking through and looking as though it didn't belong to me. I slumped back into my pillow and berated myself for being such a nincompoop. Ah well. We're not all intelligent. "Some people have to be stupid in order to become gym teachers." I muttered to myself.

However, there were voices outside. I heard them clearly. They were not those of Chelmak and Cyrillianna either.

"This is it?"

"For the fifth time, yes!" An irritated voice snapped. "And by my predictions, Cathy is inside."

"A _trailer_?" It was Charad! I flew out of bed and slammed myself against the wall.

"CHAD! MICHELLE!" I screeched. "I'm in HERE! HERE!"

"Cathy!" Two voices met my screams. There was confused dialogue and then hurried footsteps.

"Wait up, you two!" Mrs. Cook! "You can't just go trundling into a trailer that used to belong to Lucinda's children."

"Right,"

"TRUNDLE IN!" I shouted. "Please!"

"We should probably-." Whatever they were saying trailed off and I couldn't hear them anymore. I waited in fear. Nothing was happening as far as I could tell. The silence pressed in around me. I was alone, scared, and my bladder was beginning to tell me secrets. Then, a horrible, horrible thought struck me as I sat there: what if they came into my room as I was taking a piddle?

This is no laughing matter; I really had to pee.

Trusting that Chelmak and Cyrillianna would put up enough of a fight, I finally relieved myself. Luckily, nothing new happened.

Time was a-ticking.

What if the fairy duo had killed them?

I turned around in a circle. Nothing new. I stepped on my pallet and jumped around.

Pointless.

I played the hundred bottles of beer on the wall game, got bored once I reached ninety-six and quit. Who invented that crappy game anyway? Lambchops, no doubt.

Speaking of Lambchops, what kind of sick person names their lamb puppet after a food? It's like naming your pet rat Meow-Mix, only worse because lambs are cute and rats aren't.

In a fit of the jitters, I started pretending to Irish dance. For me, Irish dancing is moving my feet around madly and opening my arms up every so often as if to say "look! I am AMAZING!"

"I am Michael Flatley, LORD OF THE DANCE! Fear my bare, hairy chest as I dance towards you!" I said to the wall.

"You have a hairy chest?"

I stopped what I was doing at once and whipped around.

"CHADDAR!" I squealed. He grinned at me. I ran towards him, tripped over my pallet and landed on him like a flying fool. He hugged me, but he was shaking with laughter as he did so.

"Cathy, what are you wearing?" Michelle asked frowning.

"You don't like it?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips. "It's vintage, from about three thousand B.C."

"After seeing what you teenagers wear, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the new fashion statement when we return." Mrs. Cook shook her head.

"Oh, school," I grimaced. "What happened out there?" I pointed towards the rest of the trailer. "Where are the twits?"

"They're back on Kyrria," Mrs. Cook smiled. "Lucinda and Cedric turned them into squirrels. They won't be back again."

My jaw dropped. "What?"

Michelle pursed her lips. "It's not that complicated. They found an old spell that works only on fairies, they used their old baby clothes and turned them into squirrels, and they came back to Kyrria because of the ritual that was performed."

"Oh, not complicated at all," I said sarcastically, feeling slightly dazed.

"Come on, we must go back to Kyrria," Mrs. Cook said. With a snap of her fingers, and a flash of light, and a tricky little wiggle of her nose, we were inside the castle again.

There had been a banquet held in our honor after we returned and a ball the next day. It was an amazing amount of fluffy business. Char's brother had returned for the occasion, the Crown Prince Ephraim. He was handsome and undeniably had charisma. He had asked to dance with me at the ball, and I had obliged him after warning him many times to look at Char's wounded feet. He was friendly as well as charismatic and I really enjoyed his company.

However, Char was still the winner of my scrawny little heart.

That same night, Char and I went out onto the balcony alone.

_Crazy romance novel moment,_ I thought, looking out into the clear, starry night. It was a quarter moon, waxing or waning, I never know so just forget about it. I put a gloved hand on the stone banister and admired the silk gloves yet again. Shiny, white, pristine, wow.

Char didn't say anything.

"It's a pretty night," I said stupidly.

"Yeah," he agreed, looking up at the sky.

"I wish I could fly, because I would fly tonight,"

Char laughed. "You're bonkers."

"What can I say," I shrugged. "Something a curse does to you, I suppose,"

"Look," Char finally started saying whatever it was that was on his mind, "Mandy mentioned that tomorrow you would be returning home,"

"Yeah, kind of sucks. I can't even begin to fathom how much homework I've got-."

"Well, I'd be staying here," Char said.

I looked him in the eye and frowned, not exactly following him.

"Well, you would be able to stay here, I think, if you married me, or I could go with you to Earth,"

My heart leapt, but it wasn't a good feeling.

"Char," I said cautiously. "You're my first… real… boyfriend. I'm still in high school. I'm- I'm- not ready for that kind of commitment."

Char blushed and turned away. "Of course not, I forgot that it's so much different on Earth and all."

I felt terrible. "But-."

"It's okay, Cathy," he turned back and had a guarded look. "It was nice while it lasted," he smiled wryly at me.

I thought I would die. "Char-."

He leaned forward, kissed my cheek and strode off, leaving me alone to feel like crap.

You'd be surprised how much magic can take care of. My family had forgotten my two-week absence, my teachers had been informed of a non-existent illness, the principal had forgotten my fleeing, Michelle's mother had returned to Kyrria with her, everyone in school knew that she had moved away, Mrs. Cook had been replaced by another woman, and all my homework was done.

But magic can't get rid of heartache. And my memory remained fresh.

It's weird returning to school, such a banal existence after being kidnapped, running away to a different planet, having my first kiss with a prince, losing and gaining a curse, and seeing magic performed on a regular basis. Life feels so… strange.

I'd never had many friends in school, at least not close friends because of my curse. I had always been afraid that closeness would give someone the idea about my curse and I would be admitted into slavery or whatever. Now that Michelle and Mrs. Cook were gone, I felt utterly alone. With the curse missing, I felt unjustified in not having any friends.

"Here's your test, Ms. Kyrria," Mrs. Darlene handed me the test I had taken two weeks ago. It was a hundred. "Nice answer to the bonus." She said sarcastically. "Just what is your religion, if I may inquire?"

"Stupidity," I said.

"Very nice, and I'm glad you were on time this morning."

I shrugged. For the rest of the period, I reveled in the fact that no one could force me to pay attention. Towards the end of the day, however, I began to miss my orders because all I could think about was Char's dejected face and my essentially boring life.

Kyrria would continue without me. I should have left Earth and stayed there. Marriage couldn't be as bad as all this. I felt stranded in a non-magical world with no verification for what had happened. After school, I started walking home, staring at the ground, willing it to change to the forest floor. I almost wished that ogres would attack me.

"Hey! KYRRIA!"

"Wish granted," I muttered irritably, as I saw Olga running towards me with a few of her over-sized cronies.

"Where you been hiding these last two weeks? Nowhere to hide now, huh?" She laughed, bearing hideous yellow buckteeth.

"True, I can't hide, but boy can I run," and I took off down the sidewalk.

"Stop!" She shouted.

"HAH! You can't make me!" I stuck my tongue out at her over my shoulder. People in front of the school stopped to stare at us. After all, you've got to wonder at a slender girl being chased by four large trolls.

"Oh yeah?" She was speeding up. She didn't look it, but she was rather fast. My eyes widened. Where the hell could I go! Before I knew what was happening, the large, sweaty girl had grabbed my collar and was yanking me back. I covered my face with my arms and prayed to anything that I would come out in at most two pieces.

Then she screamed and flew back about three yards.

I watched in amazement through the hole in my arms.

"What on Earth?" I slowly lowered my arms.

"You keep your greasy mitts off Cathy, you hear?"

I couldn't believe my eyes. Standing before me was little Michelle, finger pointed at a quivering Olga. Michelle's hair stood on end, framing a livid face. Then she turned to look at me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

Her hair came back down. "Technically I'm not supposed to be here," she said smiling guiltily, "but I actually was just coming to drop someone off."

Char stepped out from behind her. "Hey Cathy,"

My jaw dropped. "What- how-."

"Kyrria just didn't feel right to me. I've been on Earth for too long."

"But- how?" I gasped.

"I'm a prince, remember? Gold is gold anywhere. Michelle's mom helped me get a bank account."

Unable to restrain myself, I ran forward and embraced him tightly. Michelle grinned, waved shortly to me and disappeared.

"Michelle was worried that you wouldn't have a date for prom," Char said.

"Yeah, that Michelle, always worrying," I laughed, feeling like I was going to cry. "I can't believe you're going to stay on Earth."

"Well- technically- I'm not," Char looked a little guilty.

"How do you mean?"

"I'm just staying for a few more years. Mandy thought- well, she thought you might want to come back to Kyrria after you graduate from high school. But if you didn't, then I would just say my farewells and leave." He showed me a pendant around his neck; it was shaped like a flat blue and green planet. "All I have to do is say the word, touch this and whatever's coming with me and I'll wind up back there. The idea is to give you the option."

"I like this plan very much." I said honestly.

"Good." Char smiled. "Shall I walk you home, my lady?" He offered me his arm.

"I would be honored," I took it and laughed. Before we arrived at my house, I turned to him. "You know, I thought that Obedience was a curse and nothing good would come of it."

"Yeah?"

"I was right, because you're no good. But I'll keep you, my princely badass."

"I'm confused, yet strangely flattered," he laughed. Then he leaned forward and kissed me.

And life was very good.

And I lived madly, yet happily ever after.

(A/N: well, that's it folks. Thank you so much for reviewing and reading and so forth. I hope you all enjoyed the story. It was fun to read your whacky responses. I'll hold them near and dear to my heart forever. I really love you guys. Muah!)


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